Kyrgyzstan

Aigul Aidarova took the initiative to subscribe to a weather forecast SMS service provided by Kyrgyzstan's meteorological agency. She receives real-time weather alerts that improve her group’s agricultural productivity and planning. Copyright: WFP/Alma Karsymbek

WFP Assistance Helps Change Lives Across Kyrgyzstan

In 2014, WFP’s food assistance supported rural development and education in the Kyrgyz Republic improving the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable people. WFP-supported projects last year included reforestation in Jalal-Abad provinces, rehabilitating an irrigation canal in Osh, school feeding in Naryn and vegetable gardening in Issyk-Kul. Here are people from various locations across the Kyrgyz Republic who received assistance in 2014.

Overview

Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked low-income country in Central Asia dominated by the majestic Tian Shan snow-capped mountain range. A former Soviet Republic, the country gained independence in 1991. Although it has since made some economic progress, almost 37 percent of the people remain below the poverty line and an estimated 12 percent are chronically food-insecure. One of the main reasons large parts of the population are locked in a cycle of poverty and hunger is that the country is frequently exposed to natural disasters shocks such as earthquakes, mudslides and floods combined with dilapidated infrastructure, dependence on food imports and a complex ethnic and political environment.